Caption: Anyone recall exactly when the Expressway trains to Detroit were cancelled and what their symbols were? We took these for granted, four per day , operating on schedule.. boring unit trains we thought. But thankfully I was able to photograph a few in good light on nice days.... because it would seem I basically ignored them most of the time instead seeking out Branchline action or manifests. While the economy of ours heats up the market for truckers is becoming very very tight - companies are now turning to rail to get product moved, and I wonder if the rail market is also tightening up and CP is instead looking to concentrate their resources on higher revenue shipments, my thoughts on why the Expressway is to be cancelled at the end of this month. Feel free to comment below and add to the discussion.
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the longer the haul, the more money. These short haul on / off trains are a great idea but have never taken off due to low revenue.
The price to maintain/ replace the eXpressway cars must be taking a large hit at profitability.
Good points. What about handling costs at each end to drive on and off? Since consingee or shipper is required to load or unload most other commodities this is another added expense for xpwy.
IIRC – another issue was the Expressway had high priority – a low revenue train displacing high revenue conventional freights out on the main road
@Snake2, with 8 scheduled freights per 24 hours between Toronto and Montreal on CP these days (including 132/133), that is no longer an issue, unfortunately.